Process for the manufacture of polishing wax compositions



Patented May 4, 1937 UNITED STATES PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OFPOLISHING WAX COMPOSITIONS John D. Pickens and Theodore RichardThompson, Flint, Mich, assignors to E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company,Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Drawing." ApplicationOctober 11,1934, .1 Serial No. 748,666

= 8 claims. (01. 134 '24) This invention relates toan improved methodfor the manufacture of wax compositions and more particularly to animproved method for the manufacture of wax compositions used as po1-' 5ishes. j

Wax compositions used for polishing various types of surfaces arecomposed essentially of a mixture of various waxes. dissolved insuitable .solvents or dispersing media. The polishing 0 compositions areprepared usually by merely melting the waxes and the solvents together,or dissolving the waxes in the solvents, pouring into containers andallowing to cool.

In order to obtain a satisfactory consistency of the finishedproductymany complicated combinations of waxes and solvents are used.Most of the compositions require the use of turpentine as the solvent inorder to obtain a satisfactory set-up of the finished product.Compositions prepared in this way do not consistently produce the mostsatisfactory polishes in that they are often of a grainy texture whichis objectionable from a use standpoint, and further they do not yield aproduct of particularly pleasing appearance in the container from "thestandpoint of smoothness and glossy surface.

This invention has as an object the provision of a process for thepreparation of polishing wax compositions having 'a homogeneous bodytexture and a smooth glossy surface. d

A further object is the provision of a method for manufacturingpolishing wax compositions in which the less costly aliphatichydrocarbons may be used as solvents or dispersing media for the waxesin place of the more expensive spirits of turpentine which is also notentirely satisfactory on account of its odor- These. objects areaccomplished in the present invention by a process for manufacturing waxpolishing compositions in which the mixing of the solid and liquidingredients of the composition is carried out under controlledtemperature conditions and the resulting mixture allowed to cool andsolidify under definitely controlled temperature conditions so as toproduce a finished product of homogeneous body texture and a smooth andglossy surface in the container.

The process of the invention may be carried out in two principal stages:(1) the step of incorporating the various ingredients into a liquidmixture of melted waxes and dispersing media; (2) the step of coolingthe mixture after pouring into suitable containers. Careful attention tothe details of both steps is of importance in order to obtain a firmfinished product having a glossy appearance in the container.

The first step of the process consists of melting the wax or waxes andheating to such a temperature so that when added to the cold solvent ordispersing media and stirred, the resulting mixture will have atemperature of about 60 F. The exact temperature to which the waxes mustbe heated will depend upon the specific heat and proportions of waxesand solvents and also upon the temperature of the solvent to which 5 thewaxes are added. The temperature of the mixture of the waxes and solventmay vary between 45 and C. but the preferred variation 'is 58 plus orminus 2 C. The temperature of the solvents or dispersing media beforethe addi- 0 tion of the waxes should be between 20 and 25 C., althoughtemperatures as high as 35 'to 40 C. have produced satisfactory results..If the temperature of the solvent is too high, however,

a soft, spongy texture of the finished composition is obtained whichexudes solvents readily under slight pressure. Such material also has apoor surface gloss and poor appearance in the container. -The preferredrange of temperature as indicated is between 20 and 25 C. In mixing 20the melted waxes with the cold solvent it is preferred to add the Waxesto the solvent. Satisfactory results, however, may be obtained by adding.the cold solvent to the melted waxes. When such a procedure is used, asomewhat nar- 25 rower rangeof temperatures of the solvent and theresulting wax composition exists in which a satisfactory product is,obtained. During the mixing operation, thorough agitation to break upthe wax crystals formed has been found to 30 produce a, material havinghomogeneous texture. 1

After the waxes have been mixed with the solventthe mixture isplaced incontainers in which it is to be dispensed. The cooling of the waxcomposition in the container is the second important step in the processof the invention. Satisfactory results can only be obtained by blowing acurrent of cooling media over the surface of the wax in the uncoveredcontainer, thus causing a crust to form over the surface of the contents40 of the container, after which solidification occurs largely from thetop down. With the proper mixing of the waxes and the solvent,satisfactory results may be obtained with the cooling media, forexample, air as warm as 35 C. However, air at 15 to 20 C. has been foundto be more practical from the standpoint of results obtained andconvenience of production. Air at too low a temperature will produce toorapid solidification and will result in cracks in the surface of thematerial in the container, which is, of course, objectionable.

Variations in the temperature to be used for cooling will depend onsuchfactors as the amount of air available and the efficiency and design of55 the cooling system. Modifications within the spirit of the inventionwill be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

By way of further explanation of the invention, and not by way oflimitation, the following ex- 50 amples of polishing wax formulations byweight are given:

Example 1 Carnauba wax 16.0 Parafiin 11.0 Mineral spirits 70.0 Citrene1.0 Oil soluble dye Trace Example 2 Carnauba wax 12.0 Paraffin 16.0Mineral spirits 71.0 Citrene 1.0 Oil soluble dye 0.3

Example 3 Carnauba wax 12.0 Refined Montan wax 8.0 White ceresin 30.0

Mineral spirits 120.0

Oil soluble dye 0.5

Example 4 Carnauba wax 5.0

I. G. wax OP 20.0

Paraffin 75.0

Mineral spirits 150.0

Oil soluble dye 4.0

The process of the invention produces a firmer, more stable and betterappearing product than can be obtained by present practices ofmanufacture. The process also eliminates the necessity for resorting tothe use of complex and more costly wax mixtures and solvents in order tomanufacture a salable product. The necessity for using turpentine as thesolvent for the waxes is eliminated. The use of hydrocarbon typesolvents such as gasoline which may be obtained in almost any desireddistillation range thus affording greater freedom in the selection of asolvent which will result in a finished product having optimum workingproperties.

While the process is particularly adapted to Wax polishing compositionscontaining a high percentage of carnauba Wax, other waxes or mixtures ofwaxes may be substituted either wholly or in part for the carnauba waxor carnauba and parafiin mixtures.

Other ingredients may be added to the polishing compositions which maycontribute desirable properties without going beyond the scope of theinvention. Such materials are, for example, coloring matter, odorants,or other ingredients which may modify the working properties,durability, or luster imparting qualities of the wax. Due to the factthat hydrocarbon solvent of the gasoline type may be used, a wide rangeof boiling compositions is afiorded as indicated above. Ranges withregard to temperatures of the mixing of the ingredients and the coolingof the finished product have been previously discussed.

The process of the invention presents as an advantage the production ofa wax polishing composition having a uniform body texture, a smooth andglossy surface in the container in which it is dispensed, and improvedgeneral quality.

Another advantage is the production of wax polishing compositions inwhich less costly aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents may be used in place ofthe more expensive commonly used spirits of turpentine.

A still further advantage is the ease of production on a manufacturingscale of wax type polishing compositions because of carefully controlledmanufacturing conditions.

As many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodimentsthereof except as defined in the appended claims.

' We claim:

1. A process for the preparation of firm, turpentine free wax polishingcomposition having glossy surfaces which comprises melting a wax ormixture of waxes and heating to such a temperature that when the meltedwax is admixed with the cool solvent with agitation, the resultingmixture of waxes and solvent will be only a few degrees above thesolidifying point of the mixture incorporating the cool solvent with thesaid wax and while the mixture is still only a few degrees above thesolidifying point pouring into containers and cooling same by blowing agentle draft of cool air over the surface of the material in thecontainer.

2. The process described in claim, 1 in which the temperature of theresulting mixtures of Waxes and solvents is between and 65 C. v

3. The process described in claim 1 in which the temperature of thesolvent at the time of admixture with the melted waxes is less than 35C.

4. The process described in claim 1 in which the melted waxes areadmixed with the cool solvent by pouring the melted waxes into thesolvent with agitation. Y

5. The process described in claim 1 in which the melted waxes areadmixed with the cool solvent by pouring the cool solvent into themelted waxes.

6. The process described in claim 1 in which the draft of cooling airblowing over the containers is less than 20 C. v

7. A process for the preparation of wax polishing compositions whichcomprises melting a wax or mixture of waxes and heating to such atemperature that when the melted wax is admixed with a solvent, thetemperature of which is between 20 and 25 C. just previous to mixing,the temperature of the resulting mixture of wax and solvent will bebetween 56 and 60 C., incorporating the solvent and wax and while themixture is between 56 and 60 C., pouring the wax mixture into containersat this temperature and cooling same by blowing a gentle draft of air,the temperature of which is between 15 and 20 0., over the surface ofthe uncovered containers until solidification of the wax-solvent mixturehas occurred.

8. Process of manufacturing wax polishing compositions which comprisesdissolving about 12 parts of carnauba wax, 16 parts of paraffin wax, 1part of citrene and a small amount of dye in about 71 parts of analiphatic hydrocarbon solvent, adjusting the temperature of the separatecomponents so that when mixed the mixture will be about 60 C., pouringthe same into small containers and passing air over the open containers,the air being maintained between 15 and 20 C.

JOHN D. PICKENS. THEODORE RICHARD THOMPSON.

